Twice the Lie: A Detective Ryan Chase Thriller, #0.5

By M K Farrar

A missing person case quickly turns sinister...

 

Two boys stumble across a crashed car in nearby woodland. The driver's seat is covered in blood, the airbag blown, but the car is empty.

So where is the driver?

As part of the Major Crimes Investigation Team, DI Chase and his partner, DS Swift, are called in to investigate. It's not long before the bodies of the owner of the car and her daughter are discovered in their home.

Who killed them? And who was driving the car.

With a murderer on their patch, can the detectives unravel the mystifying clues before the perpetrator goes on the run?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Warwick House Press
• Release date: Jun 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223529477

Book preview

A missing person case quickly turns sinister.

Two boys stumble across a crashed car in nearby woodland. The driver’s seat is covered in blood, the airbag blown, but the car is empty.

So where is the driver?

As part of the Major Crimes Investigation Team, DI Chase and his partner, DS Swift, are called in to investigate. It’s not long before the bodies of the owner of the car and her daughter are discovered in their home.

Who killed them? And who was driving the car.

With a murderer on their patch, can the detectives unravel the mystifying clues before the perpetrator goes on the run?

*Please note, Twice the Lie is set before the events of ‘The Eye Thief’ and introduces a new DI, Ryan Chase, who you can read more about in ‘Kill Chase’.

Chapter One

C ome on, Liam, Conner Lowry called over his shoulder as he traipsed across the fields towards the small copse of trees ahead.

Liam Gilbert slowed his pace and wrapped his arms around his body. He’d been hot from all the walking and had taken off his jacket and tied it around his waist, but there was a chill in the air, and his trainers were wet from the damp grass.

Nah. He shook his head. I need to get back soon or my mum’s going to have a fit.

Conner put out his lower lip in a mock pout. Aww, is Mummy going to smack your botty. Poor baby.

Liam wasn’t a baby. He was eleven years old and would be going to high school—or secondary school as his mum kept calling it—in September. Conner was going to a different school, and though Liam never would have said it out loud, he was kind of relieved about that. Conner was only four months older, but he acted like it was four years, always harping on about how he was the eldest, like it made him more mature when the opposite was true. Liam liked Conner, but sometimes he could be a bit of a bully, and, as his mum kept telling him, the only way to deal with bullies was by standing up to them.

He took a few extra steps to catch up with Conner and punched him in the arm. Don’t call me a baby.

Get lost, dickhead, Conner exclaimed. No one gets away with hitting me.

He took the punch as an invitation to fight and jumped on Liam, hooking his arm around Liam’s neck, grinding his knuckles into the top of his head.

Hey, get the hell off me, Liam protested, shoving Conner away.

His friend only laughed, taking the whole thing as one big game. It wasn’t a game. The top of Liam’s head hurt now.

Conner never seemed to care what anyone thought, and his way of always pushing things a little too far was typical of him. Liam wished he was braver and could stand up to him a bit more, but he knew what Conner’s reaction would be. He’d laugh and call Liam a pussy and make chicken noises. Then he’d go into school and tell everyone that Liam was all those things and more.

Come on, it’s not far now. Conner was already striding on ahead. We’ll walk through the woods, then we’ll be back on the road. The shop’s not far from there. I’ve got a couple of quid. I’ll treat you to something.

Liam perked up at the promise of food. Maybe Conner could be all right. Mum wouldn’t be happy if she found out he’d been snacking right before dinner, but as long as he got rid of the rubbish before getting home and made sure his face and clothes were free of crumbs, she would never know.

They reached the line of trees and ducked between the branches. The canopy blocked out the late-afternoon sunlight. Liam shivered and quickly tensed his muscles and cast a furtive glance towards Conner, hoping his friend hadn’t noticed. It would be something else for Conner to pick on him about, pointing and laughing that Liam was scared.

The road wasn’t far away, just past a few more trees. Liam pushed on, overtaking Conner, wanting to be out of the claustrophobic feel of the branches stretching over him. He imagined them moving, swiping down to hit him across the back of the head, or for roots to burst from the ground and wrap around his ankles.

He stepped out into a small clearing and exhaled a breath. He could see the sky again—darkening, but still blue—and, through the trees on the other side of the clearing, the road was visible. Too visible. A line of crushed bushes and wrecked saplings created a tunnel through the rest of the trees.

Conner came to a halt beside him. Holy shitballs!

But his friend wasn’t looking at the road or the tunnel through the trees and bushes. Instead, his head was turned in the opposite direction, over his shoulder to their left.

Liam followed his line of sight.

He gasped and staggered back. Oh, shit.

A car was at a standstill, the bonnet crumpled like an accordion against a tree trunk. The tree leaned heavily to one side, as though the force of the impact had dislodged its firm rooting into the ground and left it at an angle.

Liam pulled himself together. How long do you think it’s been here?

Conner shook his head. Dunno. Not long.

Steam or smoke rose from the bonnet in a ribbon of white.

Conner’s blue eyes brightened with excitement. There might be someone in there.

Someone who was hurt. Or even worse.

Liam took a step back. We should go get help.

Conner laughed. Don’t be a dumbass. I’ve got my phone. We can call the police.

Despite the circumstances, Liam’s cheeks heated with shame. It was just another thing that made Conner always seem and act cooler and better than him. Liam didn’t have his own phone. His mum said he could have one once he started his new school, but that hadn’t happened yet. Conner only had a phone ’cause his parents had separated, and his dad had bought him one so they could stay in touch, but that wasn’t the point.

Oh, yeah, right. Do that then.

Conner had taken his phone out of his pocket, but his gaze remained glued on the smoking car. Do you think it might blow up?

I don’t know, Conner. Just call the police, will you.

Still, Conner made no move to do so. Let’s take a quick look inside first. How can we tell the police what we’ve found if we don’t even know ourselves yet?

Someone might be bleeding to death in the driver’s seat. They didn’t have time to be messing around. But a combination of fear and self-consciousness held Liam’s tongue, and no argument left his lips.

Conner was close to the car now—only a couple of feet away. If the vehicle did explode, it would take Conner down with it. It would also take Conner’s phone, which would leave Liam out here alone, with no way of contacting anyone, and pieces of his friend’s body all over the place.

Conner, be careful! he said.

Pussy, Conner threw back at him and took another step closer. Oh, fuck. There’s blood!

Liam swallowed hard and turned his face away. What if there was a body? He grew dizzy at the prospect, his mouth flooding with spit. No, he couldn’t throw up. That wouldn’t be a good idea at all. Conner would never let him live it down. He fought against the urge, breathing through his need to puke and willing away the rush of heat that affected his face. The seconds ticked by, threatening to become minutes, and finally he managed to get a hold on himself.

When he turned back, Conner was right beside the car, his face pressed to the passenger side window.

There’s loads of blood. You have to see this, Liam!

Despite his nerves, Liam was still just a boy, and the promise of seeing something gruesome lured him in. He took the few steps needed to bring him in line with Conner and peered into the car.

Red was splattered like paint across the cracked glass spiderweb glass of the windscreen and the dark-grey plastic of the dashboard. For a moment, he thought someone was hunched over the steering wheel, but then it dawned on him that it was the partially deflated airbag. The windscreen was crumpled, and more blood covered the airbag.

Liam frowned and glanced at Conner. Instead of finding